Speaker
Tommy Vitor
Appearances over time
1 episodes
Episodes
1
Podcasts
Quotes & moments
An estimated 6,500 migrant workers have died in Qatar since the 2022 World Cup was awarded to the country back in 2010.
Saudi Arabia led a diplomatic blockade of Qatar — closing the only land border into the tiny peninsula — that only ended in 2021, making their newfound camaraderie at the World Cup all the more striking.
Tommy Vitor noted that Lionel Messi reportedly made $120 million in the past year, making his reported £25 million Saudi tourism ambassador deal puzzling.
Tommy Vitor highlighted that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman recently cut a $2 billion check to Jared Kushner, illustrating MBS's pattern of buying influence with powerful figures.
A British investigation found that hackers targeted over 100 critics of the 2022 Qatar World Cup, with Michel Platini among the targets, since at least 2019.
Qatar's US ambassador wrote a formal op-ed response to Tommy and Roger's CNN piece, accusing them of racist and biased coverage. Tommy's take: it's textbook whataboutism from a 'snowflake liberal autocrat' — and the clap-back generated ten times more media requests than the original piece.
Sepp Blatter gave a Swiss newspaper interview calling the Qatar World Cup a mistake — because the country is 'too small,' not because of human rights. Tommy and Roger dissect why men in power only find candor after they've lost it, and how Blatter's confessional was really just bitterness toward Infantino.
Gianni Infantino opened the World Cup with a 57-minute rant claiming to feel gay, disabled, and a migrant worker — a speech universally condemned by journalists. Tommy argues Infantino's only goal was to signal to Qatar's trillionaire Gulf Arab sponsors that he'll take every bullet for them.
Eight European teams planned to have their captains wear rainbow One Love armbands. FIFA responded the night before England's opener with a threat of immediate yellow cards for any captain who wore one. England, the Netherlands, and others caved — then Germany covered their mouths for the pre-game photo and issued a statement saying 'Denying us the armband is the same as denying us a voice.'
The Iranian national team stood silent and stony-faced during their national anthem in solidarity with the protest movement sparked by Mahsa Amini's murder. Families of players still in Iran face retaliation. Some fans back home wanted the team to not play at all; others felt the gesture didn't go far enough.
Tommy Vitor catalogues MBS's record: ordering the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, torturing family members in a power grab, spraying a ceiling with bullets during a fight with his mother, launching the Yemen war, and cutting a $2 billion check to Jared Kushner. He's now palling around with Infantino at the G20 — and that's what makes FIFA's position so alarming.
The Danish national team wore specially made Hummel jerseys with muted crests and sponsor logos as a symbol of mourning for migrant workers who died building the stadiums. Hummel's statement: 'We don't wish to be visible during a tournament that's cost thousands of people their lives.' Roger calls it the most effective messaging moment of the tournament.
The Emir of Qatar wrapped a Saudi flag around his neck while watching Saudi Arabia beat Argentina — a conscious geopolitical signal that their years-long blockade is truly over. Tommy argues Saudi Arabia is now looming larger over this World Cup than Qatar itself, with a 2030 bid in the works and MBS's money flowing everywhere.
Infantino received Russia's Medal of Freedom from Putin after praising the 2018 World Cup for showing 'a wonderful face of Russia to the world' — and has refused to return it despite the Ukraine invasion. He then sat between MBS and the Emir of Qatar at the World Cup opener. Tommy: 'I see two brutal, corrupt autocrats making an Infantino sandwich.'
After Shakira, Dua Lipa, and Rod Stewart all refused to perform, Qatar turned to Morgan Freeman — the man who was the face of the US bid that lost to Qatar, and who famously dropped his script mid-presentation. Roger floats the theory that Freeman was always on Qatar's payroll and dropped the script on purpose.
Fox, sponsored by Qatar Airways which paid for their Doha set, announced it would cover only on-field action and deployed a social influencer who runs a guitar website as an expert analyst. The BBC instead had Gary Lineker open with a sober, viral recounting of every human rights concern — and got millions of views.
Lionel Messi is a paid Saudi tourism ambassador while Argentina bids to host the 2030 World Cup against Saudi Arabia. David Beckham signed a $150 million, 10-year deal to be Qatar's brand ambassador — prompting an English comedian to threaten to put £10,000 through a wood chipper unless Beckham quit.
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